Anywhere
by AuthorSwimmerPoet
Summary: A sort of alt universe/songfic about Hige and Cole. Because I always wished those two would get together, even though Hige and Blue are really cute together too.


**So I got frustrated with working on my NaNoWriMo novel, and desperately wanted to work on some fanfiction instead. Remembering the half finished piece, I set to work on it, and finally got the bits I'd been having trouble with sorted out.  
As a disclaimer, I don't own Wolf's Rain, unfortunately and I do love Blue and Hige, they are adorable of course, but I always liked Cole too and wished she would have come with them instead of staying with Zali. So here is me fulfilling that dream...sort of...I used the song Anywhere by Evanescence as a basis, if you look carefully you'll probably see the lyrics from it scattered throughout. Happy reading, I hope :D**

* * *

Hige twitched frantically, tormented in his dream by a wolf, whose human form had lovely purple hair. His stomach felt so empty, that normally he would have been dreaming of the food he wished to eat, but despite the brief meeting, this new, intriguing wolf had already stolen his heart...

Cole leaned over him smiling. She stroked his face and whispered: "Dear my love, haven't you wanted to be with me. And dear my love, haven't you longed to be free"

Hige grinned up at her, wanting to pull her close and snuggle with her. The words she spoke were so very true, he wanted to be with her and he wanted to be free, but mostly he wanted her to be free, free of Zali. He didn't like Zali. At the thought of him, his hackles began to raise.

Cole laughed and continued to stroke him, "I can't keep pretending that I don't even know you. At sweet night, you are my own."

Hige woofed happily, even if she could only claim him as her secret in the middle of the night, she claimed him. He'd never been happier than he was knowing that she wanted him. He could stay like this forever, completely content in this happiness with her.

"Take my hand," She offered. Willingly he obliged and allowed her to pull him to his feet. The fingers intertwined tightly and they wandered, through the cold and deserted streets.

There was only the soft tread of their feet to fill the air, until a faint growl caught Hige's ear. He whipped around towards the source of the noise.

Zali stepped out of the shadows teeth bared.

Instinctively Hige pushed Cole behind him, standing before her defensively like she was his mate. _Run._ He commanded to her mind. _When this is finished, I'll come find you._ He felt her hesitation, but after a moment he heard with relief, her footsteps pounding away.

Zali snarled. "Give the girl up." He demanded. "She was mine first. You have no right to her."

"Wolves can choose their mates." Hige snapped back, ready to leap at the other wolf's throat if necessary.

Zali's only response was to pull his lip back farther, revealing more of his vengeful teeth.

Hige felt his hackles rising ever higher. I was eager to spring and break the tension, but it wasn't he was the outsider here, unless Zali tried to attack Cole, Hige would stand guard until provoked.

"You have no right to her." Zali repeated again, more anger and agitation in his tone this time.

"Then take her from me," Hige threatened. From the first moment he'd seen her he'd wanted to protect her. When they'd been walking away and Hige had glanced back to see her sideways stare at him, he'd wanted her more. Now he would not back down from defending her. Zali had never cared for her the way she deserved to be cared for. Hige wanted to make sure that Cole would be taken care of properly now.

Zali snarled and leapt.

Hige followed the alpha's example; he was ready to die if it meant that Cole could be free of this monster.

The fight was brief but vicious. Shreds of fur from both wolves drifted through the air as the tore at each other. Finally Hige struck what could have been a killing blow, had he not been so drained. His teeth caught at Zali's throat, puncturing his windpipe. Hige then threw the mostly limp wolf form away from him, smashing him into the wall hard enough to knock the Alpha unconscious.

* * *

"We're leaving here tonight." Hige was tired and wounded, but Zali was down for now. It was the best time for them to leave. He grabbed at Cole's hand meaning to drag her away from this vile city immediately.

"Just the two of us? But what about your pack?" Cole protested faintly, obviously understanding the pain of giving up that, and wanting to make sure he'd thought the abandoning of them completely through.

"There's no need to tell anyone." Hige responded, not even stopping to think about it. He just wanted to get away with his girl. "They'd only hold us down."

Cole nodded accepting his resolution. She took his hand, her grip quickly growing almost painfully tight around it. "So by the morning's light, we'll be halfway to anywhere." Her eyes shone briefly, full of an excitement that was unfamiliar to Hige. He'd never been able to see her as much more than oppressed by that wretched Zali. But he'd changed all that tonight.

Hige grinned widely at her, "Any place where love is more than just your name. I'm tired of only being able to say it to myself in the quiet depths of the night. I want to tell everyone that you are my mate," He squeezed her hand briefly, "my love."

She rested her head against his shoulder. "How long?"

"Hmm?"

"How long have you been willing to say you love me?"

Hige laughed lightly. He scratched the back of his head a little uncomfortably. "Hehe, I would probably say that you captured my interest from the beginning, but saying 'I love you'..." He hesitated briefly. "I probably wanted to ever since you brought us food."

Cole smiled and gripped his arm tightly. "Your stomach does seem to be the easiest way to make you happy."

Hige laughed again, rather nervously. "You know, I have dreamt..."

An abrupt howl interrupted him. Cole winced, recognizing Zali's voice in the call. Why was he already awake again? They should have had time to get away! Her hand fell from his arm. "I've got to go."

"Cole! No!" Hige called as she ran away, too well trained to listen to Zali's call to stay with the one she loved. He couldn't understand why she would still run back to Zali after all the pain being a part of his pack had caused. Hige knew she hated to watch the suffering of her fellow wolves, so why did she keep going back to him and watch their pain and struggle over and over again?

If he could stop it, he wouldn't let her go back. He chased after her.

_I have dreamt of a place for you and I. No one knows who we are there._ Hige's paws pounded harshly against the packed snow as thoughts and dreams of what he'd imagined with Cole raced through his head. His aches forgotten in this race for his love.

_I can't lose you now. _ He thought desperately. In his desperation he raised a howl to the moon, not even letting his pace slow.

Ahead of him he saw Cole glance back; it was difficult to tell from so far away, but her gaze seemed tinged with indecision.

"Cole!" He called out to her frantically. "Don't go back! Please!" His plea came out as a sharp yip that was painful even for him to listen to; it sounded so much more distraught than a wolf had any right to express. Wolves were supposed to be strong and proud, but he couldn't help pining after this potential mate. He just wanted Cole, forever by his side; nothing else seemed to matter, even the basic pride of being a wolf. Cole was enough for him to forget everything, even the immediacy of his scars from the fight he'd just fought for her.

The pain in his yip seemed to finally be enough; Cole stopped racing before him, and turned to watch his approach mournfully.

Hige panted and licked her snout as he finally reached her. "Please stay with me." He begged quietly.

Cole watched him silently, then turned away looking human, apparently finding it easier to hide her emotion out her wolf form. "Please, why do you still want to go to him?" Hige asked desperately.

"He is my Alpha." She whispered mournfully.

Hige clasped Cole's tightly in his. "All I want is to give my life only to you."

Cole smiled sadly in the moonlight. "We both know how unlikely that is with Zali around. I've dreamt so long of getting away from him; I cannot dream anymore."

Hige shook his head fiercely. "I'm not asking you to dream this. If I have to I'll kill. Let's run away; I'll take you there, to that place you've dreamed of. That place where no one can lay claim to me or you." He didn't know how much more convincing she was going to take, she'd already agreed and then backed down once. He just wanted her always safe at his side.

Finally Cole looked at him a faint smile crossing her lips. "You would do so much for me?"

"Of course," Hige responded eagerly, sensing that perhaps she was readying herself to leave. Finally. "Now please just tell me, that we're leaving here tonight."

Cole's grip tightened around his. "Are you sure there's no need to tell anyone? Not even your own pack? Kiba doesn't seem at all like my Alpha. I don't think he would be so cruel."

Hige shook his head. "All I want is you. They'd only hold us down. Even if it doesn't seem that way now. If we were with them, we'd have to be devoted to the pack as well as each other. The only one I want to be devoted to is you."

Cole turned to the east, where they could make out the sun beginning to rise. She nodded and quirked a silly grin at him, "So, shall we travel by the morning's light as far from here as we can?"

Hige returned the grin. "By noon we'll be halfway."

"Halfway to where?" Cole asked, her eyes glimmering with that beautiful excitement again.

"To answer anywhere, where no one needs a reason for us to be together." Hige answered almost teasingly.

Zali's howl rang through the city again.

"I think it's time to go." Hige urged.

She nodded in agreement, and they leapt forward leaving wolf tracks in the recently fallen snow.

* * *

As they ran, Cole's eyes gazed towards the unforgiving city they were leaving behind; Hige was only mildly surprised by the sadness in her eyes, after all, cruel as it might have been that city had been her only home. He tugged more urgently on her hand, which he held tightly when they ran as humans. In their excitement to be escaping their forms kept switching. "Forget this life." He encouraged. "Come with me; don't look back you're safe now. Unlock your heart; drop your guard, no one's left to stop you from running away, from coming away to wherever the wind takes our feet. Zali can't stop you now."

Cole nodded thoughtfully to herself and repeated softly: "Forget this life. Come with me; don't look back you're safe now. Unlock your heart; drop your guard, no one's left to stop you. Now..." Her voice trailed away, and she looked thoughtfully ahead rather than tearfully behind.

"Now, what?" Hige asked softly.

Cole shook her head, as if trying to shake her thoughts from her head. "I'm still amazed that we're leaving here tonight. I never really thought that I'd be leaving Zali. Not in this way."

"What's so strange about this way?" Hige asked curiously.

"There's no need to tell anyone," she responded, despite the words she sounded almost exultant. "It's just our two hearts, joined in the cause of racing away together into some unknown future. Together."

"We don't need anyone else." Hige stated. "They'd only hold us down. It's better just the two of our wolf hearts running off into the distance."

"So..."

Hige was awakened by the morning's light. He groaned in disappointment that the dream was over. It would have been so wonderful for all of that time spent with Cole to have been real. He wished he dared to act that way when they'd been in that city. Why couldn't he have dared to simply whisk the lovely Cole away?

Grumbling to himself he rolled over, wanting to dream again of running with Cole. As he drifted off to sleep, he thought he could hear her whisper. "We'll run and then we'll be halfway to anywhere, where love is more than just your name." His last conscious feeling was of an ache at the potential love he might have lost by not being daring enough to try.


End file.
